Knowledge and Attitude of Indigenous People towards COVID-19 Pandemic in Ebonyi State, Southeastern, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic came like a storm that shook the whole world. The response of many government was lockdown and restriction in movement. But in most rural communities information on the actual reasons for the lockdown were scanty. Many were rather curios as their markets, schools, transportation and social lives were disrupted by the government without adquate enlightment. This study was done to asses the level of knowledge and attitude of the indigenous rural dwellers in Ebonyi State towards the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Descriptive statistics was adopted to asses the knowledge and attitude of the rural dwellers towards COVID-19. One community each from the three senatorial zone were selected. Out of 150 respondents, 86% are men and 64% are women. Structured questionaire were administered directly to responders after due explanation. The questionnaire was completed and given back to the researcher. Result - Three communities were covered for the 150 respondents, 58% of the respondents are in the age group of 20-35 years, 30% are in the age group of 36-55 years, only 12 % is from the age group of above 56- and above years. Awareness- Only 40.3% of the respondents are aware of the Corona Virus disease. 36% of the respondents are heard from radio, 37% of them heard from friends, 35.5% heard from government agency, 48% heard from community health workers, 49% heard from social media. Only 20% knew the causative agent of COVID-19, while 13.3% knew about the signs and symptoms, 10% of responders knew about the methods of transmission. 16.7% are aware of the possible prevention methods. 38.7% considered it a new disease, while 30% considered it a health challenge. Knowledge of the preventive measures such as: Handwashing regularly with soap and water, use of hand sanitizers and face mask and social distancing protocol were also negative. Conclussion: There were paucity of knowledge and negative attitude of indigenous rural dwellers towards COVID-19 pandemic among the indigenous rural dwellers in Ebonyi State.